Reigenhard
The Kingdom of Reigenhard is a country in Volanum. It is bordered to the northeast by the Solaic Sea, the southeast by the Razril States, the southwest by the Albana Sea, and to the northeast by Mordam. The territory of Reigenhard covers about 400,000 square kilometres and has a population of approximately 112 million inhabitants. Reigenhard's capital is Lechtenberg, which is also its largest city with a population of 8.6 million. The country is a constitutional monarchy and contains five magistracies of five ethnic groups, Reitzendom, Rothain, Konergy, Deitzengraft, and Krenvol. Reigenhard was one of the first countries to industrialise in the nineteenth century and became a superpower after the Second Mordamian War. However, the country's political influence diminished after strife and major economic downturns during the latter half of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, Reigenhard remains one of the most powerful countries in the world. Reigenhard boasts one of the highest average standards of living in the world and one of the highest GDPs in the world, reflected by its broadly laissez-faire political economy. History Reigenhard was first united in 118 BCE under the Reitzen king and military commander, Turgen. Reigenhard remained united until 1529 when a civil war broke out between the magistracies. The war began when Edrech, an unofficial region of Reitzendom rebelled against the kingdom amidst growing nationalism. Less than a week after, Markinaum, another unofficial region of Reigenhard rebelled against the kingdom along with the entire magistracy of Krenvol. The rest of Reitzendom was forced to become a military state and granted the remaining magistracies self-governing power to suppress the rebellion. At this time, Rothain split in half between Northern Rothain and Southern Rothain. Northern Rothain was a prosperous kingdom in terms of science, technology, and the arts. Southern Rothain, however, remained the most loyal to Reitzendom and helped suppress the rebellion. However, the standard of living in Southern Rothain was incredibly low. Reigenhard was then reunited forty years later and soon began to develop its parliamentary democracy. Prior to the current establishment, the Parliament had evolved over more than a millennium as a mere group of advisors to the monarch to an elected chamber representing the voice of the commoners in government. Though only vassals could vote in representatives and the representatives' voice was not legally binding and could only protect the commoner from basic rights endowed in earlier treaties between the commoners and nobility. These included the right to know one's accuser, no cruel punishments, no apprehension without charge, and the right to know charges against one. The Constitution was a landmark in Reigen history as it provided the layout for the nation's government and the rights of the people. The Constitution was established in 1608. King Konrad II authorised the first plebiscite of male ethnic Reigens who were members of the state church. In the late 1800s, a civil rights movement ensued, largely supported by the Liberal Party. The movement sought to decriminalise homosexuality, grant female suffrage, and the rights of those not members of the state church to vote and hold public office. After a long and heated battle, the movement was successful. In 1914, Mordam had suffered from hyperinflation and could not properly manage its resources with its command economy, causing massive waste. In a desperate move, Mordam invaded Deitzengraft, in hopes of using much of its natural resources. This created a sense of unity against Mordam in Reigenhard and strong anti-Mordamen sentiment. The First Mordamen War ensued for one year and a half. Mordam was defeated and left in an even worse condition. This sense of unity led to an era of unity among Reigens which sparked the prosper in later years. In the 1920s, the Conservative government of Collith Verden pursued a largely laissez-faire political economy which resulted in great economic and technological prosper and a cultural revolution. This was also a time in which many non-Rothainen and non-Reitzen person held high public office, something which was incredibly rare and difficult. There was also particularly a high level of immigration, particularly from Reigenhard's ex-penal colony in the Albana Sea, Exovam. Many of these emigrants were seen as degenerates as they were descended from criminals and thus were treated as second class citizens. This led to a reactionary movement, particularly within the Conservative Party to use intimidation to remove these non-Reitzens and non-Rothainens from public office and from influential sectors of the economy. This Reactionary movement particularly targeted the Krenvolens as they were the most historically oppressed people in Regeinhard's history. This prompted a revolution in Krenvol in 1934. Massive strife ensued in Krenvol as the magistracy was overthrown and a puppet government of the Krenvolen Voluntary Forces was installed. The war lasted three years and took a devastating toll on the population and economy. The leadership of one general in the army, Raudert Kelinburn, created unity among the people. Kelinburn immediately became a popular frontrunner in the Conservative Party election in 1940 and won the party's nomination almost unanimously. He won the parliamentary election by a massive landslide in 1940 and became Chancellor of Reigenhard. Soon after, Mordam declared war on Reigenhard for a second time in hopes of annexing some of it's resource-rich territory, specifically in Deitzengraft. The goverment of Mordam assumed that the Krenvolen War had weakened Reigenhard's infrastructure enough to allow part of it to be taken over. Mordam had however become a stronger nation after building up its military and waged total war. At one point, Mordamen forces almost completely occupied Deitzengraft and part of Konergy. Kelinburn briefly established a militarist state and became Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces along with his role as Chancellor. He successfully led his assualt against Mordamen forces by having ground battalions march in pairs several clicks away from each other, then have them close in, trapping any Mordamen forces. This tactic became Kelinburn's signature military tactic. Kelinburn had been re-elected in 1945 but with a significant decrease in power. Part of this reason was because people feared he may abuse his power as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. However, he successfully defeated Mordamen forces in 1946 and Kelinburn's popularity remained strong. He oversaw the economic recovery by abolishing the income tax which he had to install at a flat rate of 10% to help fund the war. This led to an economic resurgence which allowed the government to pay of war bonds in less than a decade. Kelinburn was re-elected in 1950 and retired in 1955. His tenure after the war marked a second era of economic prosper similar to that of the 1920s. Kelinburn was also revered for being able to retain the gold standard completely during a time of massive spending. Kelinburn's reputation has given him the rank of one of the greatest Chancellors in Reigenland's history. His championing of individual rights including abolishing conscription, especially prior to the Second Mordamen War proved controversial but helped secure his legacy. In 1955, most of the popular Conservative statesmen from Kelinburn's government had retired and there were no popular Conservative statesmen that the populace felt could emulate Kelinburn's legacy. The Royalist Party had become increasingly popular campaigning on Reigen unity and Reigen values. This sense of patriotism uplifted the populace and the Royalist Party won a reasonable majority in the 1955 national election which prompted them to nominate Kerrith Stegen as the Chancellor. The next five years became that of a massive police state and the forcing of religious values upon the people. The abridgement of freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial became increasingly controversial. The Royalist Party also transferred much of the powers of the people to the monarch. This led to a constitutional crisis as the monarch at the time, King Rothgar VI dismissed Parliament in 1959. King Rothgar then requested the Conservative leader at the time, Gerrand Vornau to form a government until the next national election in 1960. In 1960, the Labour Party came into power for the first time campaigning on social democracy and the mistreatment of the populace under the Royalist government. The Labour government then proceeded to establish an income tax and payroll tax. They nationalised many industries and established the first state pension and state-run public schools in the country (though the Royalist government had previously established charter schools that were state funded but run by the state church). With the support of the Liberal Party, the Labour Party funded health care through vouchers. This caused a surge in costs, upon seeing this, the Labour government socialised the health care system. The Labour government was re-elected in 1965 but with less power in government. By that time, unemployment had reached 10% and was rapidly increasing. To garner more support, the Labour government initiated a massive infrastructure spending programme to get people back to work. By this time, the Labour government legalised fractional-reserve banking but had later completely removed the country from the gold standard and established a central bank to help boost the economy. The Reigen economy was very sluggish and in 1967, the Labour Chancellor, Kindred Agar received a vote of no confidence and King Rothgar called upon the Liberal Party leader, Silas Madion to form a government. The Liberal government was received with lacklustre support when they lowered taxes and returned the country to a partial gold standard. By 1970, the national election had taken place and the Conservative Party had nominated Lisel Thalwyn as leader. The Conservative Party won the election with a hefty majority after campaigning on restoring the principles of the Kenilburn government. Thus Thalwyn became Chancellor and was the second woman to hold that office in the nation's history. She proceeded immediately to reverse virtually all of the legislation enacted by the previous Labour government and Royalist government. With the dismantling of the welfare state, unemployment increased significantly which stirred much controversy but by the time the next election came in 1975, the economy had begun to recover and unemployment decrease significantly. She was re-elected in 1975 and continued to decrease the size of government. However, her strong social conservative politics and her refusal to remove the central banking monopoly led to a decrease in popularity and the Conservative government was voted out in 1980. After a decade of a Liberal government in the 1980s, the Chancellor then, Jonan Darys had failed to decrease government sufficiently enough and was voted out of office in 1990. A strong Libertarian government led by Chancellor Sveinung Arden dramatically decreased the size of government by removing the central banking monopoly and near completely deregulating the market. Though he was defeated by Conservative candidate, Stellad Elsein, his legacy remains influential in the Libertarian Party. Elsein's government was unpopular due to its misappropriation of funds and was voted out in 2000. The current Libertarian government led by Max Sydon was also re-elected in 2005 and has managed to keep the government size minimal. Politics Reigenhard is a constitutional monarchy. The political system is is founded in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Reigenhard which was implemented in 1608. The Constitution outlines the social contract between the nobility and the commoners. The government consists of a bicameral legislature. The lower branch consists of the House of Bailiffs which are elected by the people of the individual bailiwicks to represent them and the higher branch consists of the House of Barons which are appointed by the incumbent monarch (the head of state). There are 200 bailiwicks in Reigenhard, making 400 total legislators in Parliament. The populace of each magistracy also elects a magistrate to govern them. The five largest parties in Reigenhard are the Libertarian Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the Royalist Party, and the Labour Party, all of which have achieved the office of Chancellor. Partisan politics developed in the early nineteenth century when the Chancellor Wilheim Zennett retaliated against a large faction of Parliament for considering curbing the powers of the monarch. This led to the foundation of the Conservative Party. The faction which supported truncating powers of the nobility became the Liberal Party. The Royalist Party was the third to develop in 1889 after a split in the Conservative Party over whether or not more power should be given to the monarch. The Conservative Party preferred the status quo. The conservative faction that broke off to form the Royalist Party also saw the Conservative Party as being too socially liberal. The Libertarian Party developed in 1904 in protest of the tariffs imposed by Gunther Holworn's Liberal government. Though most defects that formed the Libertarian Party came from the Liberal Party, the defection was not from an organised faction of the Liberal Party and many members of the Conservative Party joined due to the Conservative support for the tariffs. The Labour Party formed after of the Krenvolen War in 1932. The nation's infrastructure was largely deteriorated causing a caprice in the standard of living. The purported lowly treatment of the working class after the war led to a labour movement which the Labour Party evolved out of. The modern Libertarian Party supports decreasing the size of government dramatically. They advocate scrapping the national VAT and minimal regulation of border migration. They are highly opposed to virtually any government intervention in the economy and in people's everyday lives. The Conservative Party wholeheartedly withholds the Constitution and favours the status quo in respect to politics. They usually favour tougher penalties for crimes and heavy border regulation. The party consists of libertarian conservative, social conservative, ultraconservative, and even ethno-nationalist factions. The Liberal Party favours more reform in government. They are generally supportive of the free market, though they favour raising the national VAT for school vouchers and a negative income tax. The Party also favours rehabilitation of criminals over punishment. They have expressed interest in fractional-reserve banking, or even completely abandoning the gold standard in favour of a monetarist political economy with a central bank. Some members are also republicans and favour abolishing the monarchy. The Royalist Party supports granting the nobility more powers and having the elected legislature act as an enforcer of the nobility's values. The platform ranges around monarchism, protectionism, nationalism, imperialism, ultraconservatism, and even mercantilism. Some Royalists also favour abolishing the Constitution claiming it to truncate the power of the monarch. The Labour Party is highly in favour of restoring the welfare state once implemented under their one-time government. They would favour re-nationalisation of the nation's railways, schools, health care, and pensions. They would bring back national unemployment compensation, public housing, the income tax, the payroll tax, the inheritance tax, and cultural funding. The Labour Party favours fiat money and a central bank to try and boost the economy with low interest rates. Many Labour Party members are republicans, more so than those in the Liberal Party. Demographics The total population of Reigenhard is estimated at 112 million. 28% of the population consists of Reitzens, 27% consists of Rothainens, 19% consists of Deitzens, 17% consists of Konerigens, 6% consists of Krenvols, and 3% consist of mixed races and minorities including Razrils and Mordamens. Languages The official language is Reigen. Reigen is a blend of mostly Reitzen and Rothainen with some Konerigen and Deitzen. Reitzen, Rothainen, Deitzen, Konerigen, and Krenvolen are all recognised languages. Mordamen and Razril are also spoken among the small minority. Religion Reigenhard has a state church promoting Dunivism, known as the Church of the Dunivum (the Dunivum being the scripture of the religion). The monarch is considered to be the enlightened sovereign of the Church. However, the Church Rector is the head of the Church. Duvinism is based on the belief that the pantheist belief that the planet is a conscious being and the patriarch of humanity. There also exist demigods which perform the functions of the universe. While most modern Dunivists consider these beliefs figurative, some tend to take this belief more literally. The Church had been the traditional proponent of Duvinism until the Civil War in which many Duvinists believed they didn't need an episcopacy for their religion. Thus many sects of Duvinism sprung about and exist today. They range from merely humanist forms of Duvinism that merely stress the virtuous principles of the religion to ultraconservative sects that insist Duvinism is the ultimate truth. Approximately 57% of the population is Duvinist with 67% of those beloning to the Church of the Duvinum. Approximately 40% of the country is irreligious, and 3% adhere to other minor religions. Economy Reigenhard has one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world. The economy is highly diverse, especially within each magistracy. Though the most important aspects of the economy are manufacturing and banking. The political economy is broadly laissez-faire. There exists no state standard for schooling, which has resulted in a mass diversification of schooling and one of the best education systems in the world. There exists no central bank or monopoly over what banks can print currency. This has resulted in flexible interest rates with many banks using gold, silver, platinum, other precious metals, and even fiat currency in some cases to be lent out on interest. The government however requires taxes to be paid in 100% gold-backed krones. 100 krones is fixed to one gram of gold. The largest banks in the country include Levinam Bank, the Bank of Barstad, the Bank of Reigeinhard, Reigen Finance, Zaleg Financing, and the Royal Bank of Reigenhard. Reigenhard is also known for having complete legalisation of drugs which is a prime sector of the economy. Reigenhard has no income tax or payroll tax. Rather the national government is funded by a 3% national value-added tax. The standard rate VAT for magistrate governments and bailiwick governments totals 1%. Municipal governments are left to levy their own VAT to be added onto the national, magistrate, and bailiwick VAT. Geography Reigenhard is on the eastern portion of the continent of Volanum. It is bordering the Razril States to the southwest and Mordam to the northwest. The northern and northeastern coast is on the Solaic Sea. On the south and southeastern coast is the Albana Sea which is well known tourist destination due to its tropical climate. The north consists of a mostly marine climate with mild and often harsh winters and cool summers. Deitzengraft is in the northwest and Konerigy in the northeast. Konerigy is also home to the Bergyns, a snowy mountain range going down the middle of Konerigy which is the second most popular ski resort in the winter after the Edrechian range in western Reitzendom. Krenvol is north of the Edrechian range and in between Deitzengraft and Reitzendom (though Reitzendom shares a border with Deitzengraft). Rothain is east of Reitzendom and south of Konerigy. Lechtenberg is the captial and largest city in Reigenhard. It is the country's most important financial hub and is known for its multicultural population and diverse architecture. Lechtenberg also has a vibrant nightlife and is famous for it's night club district, Vargodia. Lechtenberg's business dictrict, Westoria is the most important financial district in the nation. Barstad in Rothain is the second largest city and the captial of Rothain and is also famous for its prestigious university, ranked second to the University of Wolton in Reitzendom as the greatest in the country. Barstad is famous for its uniquely Rothainen architecture and culture as it was the hub of the renaissance after the Civil War in Rothain. Barstad is also famous for its natural beauty along with its palaces and castles. The third largest city, Dixenfort, is in Deitzendom. It is mostly an industrial city and is home to many factories. Dozam is the fourth largest city in the country and capital of Deitzendom. It sits on the coast of the Solaic Sea and is famous for it's low crime rate, uniquely Deitzen architecture, and mild climate. Offenhogen is the fifth largest city in the country and largest in Konerigy. The city was built in a lush green valley south of the Bergyns, Thus the city is known for it's hills and trams going throughout the city.